Monday, January 17, 2011

I am so excited to share my new sewing closet with you today! I wish I could just sit in there and stare at it all day. As you may remember, my motivation to do anything creative has been non-existent since the holidays. A good part of this was due to the fact that my sewing area was a complete wreck. About a week and a half ago I committed myself to getting my sewing area remodeled and organized by the end of January. Well, I didn't waste any time. I have to first and foremost thank my husband for helping me to make it all possible. It took us a full weekend to get everything painted and built and then I took last week to get everything organized and put away. I can't stand to wait any longer! Here's the before and after...

Isn't it incredible?! I never imagined it would turn out this great. I'll tell you a little bit about the building process, and then I'll take you on a little tour of the finished closet.

First thing, I completely emptied the closet and removed the shelf and shelf supports that were in the closet. Once everything was out, I spackled all the holes in the walls. After that dried, I sanded down the spackle and then used a damp cloth to clean all the spackle dust from the walls and trim.

Next up was paint. I decided to go with Linen White because there is some sitting in our basement from the previous owners of our house (in other words, it was free!) I wanted a fresh, crisp look. After I taped all the trim and rolled on the paint, I had an empty closet with a clean canvas as a starting point.

Those two boards leaning against the wall are the side supports for the new bottom shelf. I painted those when I painted the walls.

Next came the shelving. My husband and I installed a shelf across the entire width of the closet. We then attached a 12.5" tall piece of the same board against the wall on either end of the shelf. We were then able to add a second shelf on top of those boards. I then measured along the bottom shelf every 14.5", and we installed three 12.5" tall dividers between the two shelves. I decided on the dividers to help organize the shelf and contain all of my craft, sewing, and decorating books.

Once the dividers were up, we added two metal brackets to help support the center of the shelf.

Next came the desktop. We were originally planning to use a couple of planks and lay them side by side, but we ended up springing for a piece of laminate countertop at Home Depot. It was $66, but it was well worth the money. It provides a really nice surface to sew on. In order to support the countertop, we had to build a frame out of 2x4s. Tip: Make sure each board in your frame is level before you attach it. This will ensure that your countertop is level when you place it on the frame.

The countertop itself was too deep for the closet, so we used a circular saw to cut off the backsplash so that it would fit. It was also about a foot and a half too long, so we had to cut down the length of it. We were scared to cut the countertop, but it was super easy! Here's what you do: determine where you need to cut, and place a strip of masking tape or painter's tape centered over the cut and along the entire length of the cut. Mark your cutting line right on the tape, and cut right through the tape/countertop. Works like a charm! Use the tape, otherwise you might end up cracking or splintering the laminate.

After the countertop was cut to the right size on the third try, we set it on top of the frame and screwed through the 2x4 frame right into the countertop. The final piece was a framed pegboard that was hanging inside one of the closets when we bought our house. I positioned it on the wall above the countertop so that it would cover the metal support braces under the shelves. The very last step was to install an electrical outlet in the closet for a light and my sewing machine. And voila, I've got a sewing closet!

Now for a little tour of my finished little space...

The outer shelf cubbies hold my craft, sewing, and decorating books. The two center cubbies hold boxes filled with buttons, elastic, glues, scrapbook paper, paints, glue guns, and paper punches. The very top shelf holds all of my pillow forms, polyfil, and baskets full of extra supplies. It's kind of nice because that area is sort of hidden from view from outside the closet. Under the desktop are three rolling carts with drawers. This is where all of my fabric, interfacing, and batting reside.

Here is the desktop area...

The jars on the desk are filled with ribbon, zippers, ric rac, Sharpies, glue sticks, pens, and pencils. I also have a little notepad cube and pin cushion.

The little clothesline displays some of my oldest daughter's artwork. The tack board has cards from some of my favorite Etsy shops, including a letterpress "Hello" card that came with an order from this Etsy shop.

Here's a closer look at the decorations on the wall. Remember when I bought this old Hasbro Necchi Supernova toy sewing machine last fall? I finally have a proper place to display it...

The little shelf came from Target. I taped little paper flags onto the front. And to the right is my vintage Fisher Price Little People woman at her sewing machine (although I hate to say vintage because I had one of these as a kid, and it makes me feel old). Love her...

I also have a couple of framed pieces that I really like. The first, "Get Excited and Make Things", I found through Alissa at 33 Shades of Green. It's a free printable from Pretty Procrastination which can be found here (in four different colors!). The second, "Just Be", I made myself. It's something I'm trying to remind myself to work on this year.

I also have a ginormous button that I bought at JoAnn's last fall, and two little embroidery hoops with pieces of some of my favorite Heather Ross fabrics in them.

And now the view to the right...

All of my thread is stored on the rack on the wall. The number 4 vintage marquee number was an Etsy purchase a while back. And in the very back corner of the desktop is a little wooden box with drawers for storing more sewing tools. On top is this cute little metal sewing machine that I recently dug out of the basement...

I don't even know where it came from. I just always remember it sitting on a shelf in my room growing up. I had completely forgotten about it. I found it when I went looking for the thimbles. I used to collect thimbles when I was a kid, and these are two of my favorites.

This completes the tour of my new sewing closet. If anyone is interested in building something like this, and you have any questions, please feel free to email me. I'm certainly not an expert, but I can tell you what worked for us. This is a great way to carve out your own sewing space if you don't have an extra room in your house or if you live in an apartment.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! And an extra big thanks to those of you who stuck it out through the whole post... it was a long one. Now that I can get to my sewing machine, I've got some work to do!

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comments:

WOW!!! This is so great!! Anyone would be inspired in this space! I love all the little personal touches. I may have to use your idea and make a "just be" sign of my own. Definitely something I want to do more of this year also. Thanks for the tour!

I LOVE it and now I am inspired to create my own. When my 3rd was born we set up a baby nursery in my walk-in closet (don't worry it had a window and was big enough for a changing table and crib) and now it is empty so I think I'll change it into a sewing room.

Your work is inspiring. Thanks for sharing(gareat photos)I'm proud of you for your efforts and you should be very proud of your "closet".I know there will be many new goodies coming out of it! this comment is from: K S Bolton

I'm super jealous and happy for you all at the same time! You've done a great job creating a this perfect spot. You've used every inch of space, too! I've been searching for "vintage" Little People on Ebay for my daughter because the version they make now is not nearly as cool as the ones I grew up with. I've never seen the sewing machine piece though - awesome! I've also never thought of myself as being from a vintage era, but if that's how they wanna describe our superior toys, so be it!

Thank you so much for posting this. It was what I had in mind for my house but needed to picture of "my vision" to show hubby so that he is on board!! I'm going out today to source things for my new space!! I'll finally have my dining table back.Joelle

Gwen, you did an amazing job! I am going to show this to my husband because we have a closet the same size in our office/ craft room and I love the idea of being able to close the doors when it gets too messy (I am right there with your before picture!) Right now I just keep the whole room closed up and think this would be such a better alternative!

I love how it turned out! And you even had enough room to put in some inspiring pieces! So much fun! Can't wait to see what all this organization leads too- I forsee many more great projects in the future!Love it, Gwen!xoxo,Amy

I love the closet, no doubt. Organization and sewing are both close to my heart. However, what really, really made my heart go pitter pat was the Fisher Price woman and her sewing machine. I have been collecting FP for years, ok, decades, and have NEVER even seen this piece! Adorable. Sew happy for you! :) Happy creating.

Amazing, Amazing, Amazing!!! I bet you wake up each day and can't wait to go craft in there!! Congratulations on getting this sewing closet done so quickly! I love all the details and mini sewing machine!

Oh wow!! It's so awesome! I bet you're ready to get busy on project now for sure! I actually have a whole room for all of my stuff, but it is a complete disaster. Way worse than it was when I blogged about it back in May. I've been brainstorming for a huge overhaul and I think I'm going to swipe your idea for a sewing closet. Right now I've got the closet packed with stuff. Once I can clear that out. I think I'd like to do this same thing or at least move my desk in there and make it an office nook.

What a wonderful space to create, Gwen! You and hubby did a great job! I would like to make my closet in our spare room into a desk/computer area. So I'll have to keep this post in my favorites for a later resource.

Oh, you will be proud of me...my hubby set up his grandma's old sewing machine for me. He's going to give me a lesson or 2. I know sad...he knows more about sewing than I do. LOL

Hi, Gwen! I love your sewing closet makeover!!! You did such a great job organizing everything, but also making it pretty. I love the little toy sewing machine. "Sew" cute. ;) Visiting from The CSI Project today. :)

This is absolutely wonderful. Really, really wonderful. I hope you win this challenge--you deserve to! What a marvelous use of space, plus lots of good organization, plus beautiful decor--it's the complete package! Congratulations!!

Amazing! So well done! I was glad to hear about how to cut the counter top- we recently picked one up free from the discard pile of a office desk/cubicle business, and I'm not sure it'll fit our space.

That is fabulous! You are a lucky girl to have such a great sewing space...I think I'm jealous of people who have extra closets that they can turn into work spaces ;)Really, you did an awesome job and I love that you decorated it too!

I love it! I really wish I had an extra closet so that I could do the same thing. I'm having the hardest time finding a space for my sewing items! I would love if you would link this up to "Simplify for the New Year" over at A Home Made by Kiki! I am your newest follower too!

oh I love this. I made a cloffice (closet office) a few months ago and I love it. I never close the closet doors because I think it's so beautiful. I use it for crafts more than I use it for work. haha. anyway, your sewing closet is beautiful.

Love it, we are thinking about making a desk in our daughters room, great inspiration.

I JUST am finishing up my sewing room makeover and your are right when you are organized or at least have a good start it is soooo much easier to be creative and productive. I have some storage ideas on my blog too, love to see stop on by...and happy sewing! ! !

This amazing! I have already shown it to my husband in hopes that we can do something similar. It is a lot more reasonable for us, as we live in a one bedroom apartment and I can't take up a whole room. I really hope this shows him how easy ti would be!

Not only beautiful but scathingly brilliant. I am in the process of turning a small bedroom into a walk-in closet/sewing room and found your blog searching for paint colour ideas. I think now I'll use your sewing closet inspiration rather than going with the basic shelving unit I was going to put in the closet. Thanks so much for sharing!

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